Trump Says U.S. Still Watching Iran, Fleet Sailing to Region

This is Beirut, 23/01 09:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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President Donald Trump said Thursday a US naval "armada" was heading toward the Gulf, maintaining pressure on Iran, although he has recently downplayed the prospect of imminent military action. Last week, Trump pulled back from a threat to strike Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests after the White House said Tehran had ...

Kurdish SDF Fighters Leave North Syria Prison Under Govt Deal: State Media

This is Beirut, 23/01 09:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Syria said early Friday that government forces had begun transferring Kurdish fighters from a prison in the north where they had been holding Islamic State group detainees, as part of a weekend agreement. An AFP correspondent in Raqa saw buses and cars heading away from the Al-Aqtan prison on the city's outskirts overnight, escorted by ...

Iraq Says to Start Legal Proceedings against IS Detainees Moved from Syria

This is Beirut, 22/01 22:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Iraq's judiciary said Thursday it would launch legal proceedings against Islamic State group detainees transferred from Syria to Iraq as part of a US operation. "The Iraqi judiciary will begin standard legal proceedings against the defendants who are received and placed in the relevant correctional institutions," the Supreme Judicial Council ...

Erbil Set to Host New Syria-Kurdish Talks as Ceasefire Strains in the North

This is Beirut, 22/01 16:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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A new round of negotiations between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is set to take place in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Kurdish sources cited by Al Arabiya, as efforts intensify to salvage a ceasefire and revive talks over the future of northeastern Syria. The planned meetings come just days after ...

U.S. Urges Syria to Support Jihadist Transfer to Iraq

This is Beirut, 22/01 15:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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The commander of US forces in the Middle East has called on Syria's president to support the transfer of thousands of jihadist prisoners from Syria to Iraq, the US military said. In a phone call on Wednesday, Admiral Brad Cooper urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to "avoid any actions that could interfere" with the process. The United States ...

Amid U.S. Military Build-Up, What Comes Next for Iran and the Region?

Shelby Weiss, 21/01 15:50 - Reading : 8 minute(s)

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Washington is signaling it may take action against Iran amid its increasingly deadly crackdown on nationwide protests that began on December 28. This is Beirut spoke with analysts about the dramatic events unfolding in Iran and their ripple effects on the region, after reports show a significant U.S. military buildup is underway in the Middle ...

Iran FM Says Davos Appearance Cancellation Based On 'Lies'

This is Beirut, 20/01 13:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi hit out at the World Economic Forum in Davos for cancelling his appearance over a crackdown on recent protests, saying the decision was based on "lies and political pressure". Protests in Iran sparked by economic strain in late December exploded into the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years, ...

Israel Won the War, So Why Is the Muslim Brotherhood Winning the Peace?

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 20/01 13:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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The new regional order taking shape appears to be a haunting inversion of the post-9/11 era. At the time, the U.S. smashed Sunni powers, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, incidentally empowering Iran and its sprawling proxy network. Washington even called Shia Islamism the more “reasonable” alternative and partnered with Tehran against ...

Talks Between Damascus And Kurdish-led Forces "Collapse"

This is Beirut, 20/01 12:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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Negotiations have collapsed between the Syrian president and the chief of the country's Kurdish-led forces, a Kurdish official told AFP, as the army deployed reinforcements to flashpoint areas in the north. President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, who heads the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), were meeting to discuss a ceasefire ...

Netanyahu Draws Red Line on Gaza Postwar Plan

This is Beirut, 20/01 11:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Monday that Turkish and Qatari forces would not set foot in Gaza, days after the White House announced that officials from the countries would sit on a key committee set to oversee the Strip’s postwar management. Speaking during a parliamentary session in Jerusalem, Netanyahu acknowledged a ...

Iran Orders Protesters in ‘Riots’ to Surrender Within 72 Hours

This is Beirut, 20/01 10:05 - Reading : less than a minute

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Iraq Announces Complete Withdrawal of U.S.-Led Coalition From Federal Territory

This is Beirut, 19/01 09:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iraq said on Sunday US-led coalition forces had finished withdrawing from bases within the country's federal territory, which excludes the autonomous northern Kurdistan region. "We announce today... the completion of the evacuation of all military bases and leadership headquarters in the official federal areas of Iraq of advisers" of the US-led ...